A Louisiana-based CDL holder wrote in following Overdrive reporting on the upcoming deadline to “self-certify” with your licensing state that you have a valid medical card.

The June 2011 cover story of former Overdrive sister publication Truckers Newsexamined the “Medical CDL” rule in brief — at the time, drivers were under a 2012 deadline to self-report medical certification, but too many states were behind the ball, resulting in two years’ worth of extensions.

I’m confused about this new medical card. Do I have to go to DMV and get a different kind of card? Everyone I talk to in Louisiana has never heard of this?

The “new medical card” will be your CDL, part of the so-called “Medical CDL” rule’s long implementation, following which your medical certification will be electronically accessible to enforcement officers via your CDL, essentially, eliminating the need for drivers to carry paper medical cards.

Some states, furthermore, have been collecting the information for many years already.

UPDATE 12/23/2013CDL Program Specialist Matthew May of the Kansas Department of Revenue wrote in to update his state’s procedures, which he says are out of date in the AAMVA spreadsheet. The state has an online applications and a download of a paper application that drivers may use accessible via ksrevenue.org/vehicle.html.

“If you use the online application,” says May, “it allows a driver to fill in the necessary information and even attach a PDF copy of their medical card before their application is submitted. It also has the fax number on there that drivers can use to submit documents.”

Any questions on the Kansas self-certification process can be directed to the state’s customer contact center 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 785-296-6834. “At the present time,” says May, “we do not have one person designated as out point of contact — it has been more of a community effort.”